9 September 2024

Last week recapped from the world's largest WhatsApp community of PR and comms people.

The big topic: not this week

Some weeks, a single theme - often drawn from current events - dominates the many conversations within the community. On others, I can piece together a thread from reading between the lines and links. And on some, every chat seems to joyfully run along its own path, with little or no regard for the others.

Last week was one of those. Which is fine, totally fine. Just hard to summarize.

We did add two new groups - Women In Communications, and DE&I, at the suggestion of Aceil Haddad .

About The Conversations

For new joiners - you found us, welcome! - here's how The Advisory Club community works on WhatsApp and by extension, here. There are around 22 groups or conversations in the community, comprised of 796 professionals in the communications, PR and marketing space. I pull a few highlights from some of those conversations to share in this recap. With huge appreciation to the admins and contributors.

Artificial Intelligence

With 265 people in this conversation it's the second largest in the community and a reflection of just how much people are thinking and writing about AI as it relates to communications and marketing. It's administered by Andrew Bruce Smith and covers a wide range of news and issues. For the full effect, I suggest you either join the chat or follow him directly, or both.

• AI literacy. "AI literacy in simple terms is about developing skills and understanding regarding how to develop and use AI, its opportunities and risks." A look at AI regulation including mandatory AI literacy.
• Lobbyists, assemble! Speaking of regulation, the big AI players are bulking up.
• Job theft? Not so fast.
• Human influence. Here's Time's list of the most influential people in AI.
• Grunt work. A look at Omnicom's new generative AI virtual assistant, "Omni Assist" (they still own branding agencies, right?)
• AI confessional. Ask what you've been too afraid to, starting today. Via Jenny Nicholson .
• Smartphone levy. "More than 4,000 artists have called on the [UK] government to create a levy on smartphone sales to fund visual art in the face of cuts, studio closures and the rise of generative AI."

Behavioral Science

138 people discussing behavioral science methodologies and solutions applied to communications. No new content from last week.

Bio Comms

This chat has 49 participants and focuses on health, medicine and wellness marketing and communications.

• Biohybrids. Revolutionary biohybrid robots are coming. The future is freaky.
• Mpox conspiracies. The team at Lynn has produced another disinformation report, this one on mpox. Download it here.

Capital Markets

42 participants discussing matters related to financial communications. No new posts last week.

Creative Displays Of Brilliance

102 participants interested in advertising and creativity.

• Make boring writing fun again. As a young science writer in my very first non-tip job, I brought some copy to my boss. It’s technically accurate, he said. (Pfew). Now make it interesting to read. I wish I had this for inspiration then.

Crisis, Risk & Resilience

181 people interested issues management, crisis communications, risk and resilience.

• Stakeholder engagement. A post from community contributor Julio Romo .
• Grenfell fire. Following government report on a 2017 horrific fire in London that called three building-product manufacturers "dishonest", all three came out fighting in their statements. This prompted a lengthy conversation: what is the purpose of PR, anyway, in these kinds of situations?

DE&I

Brand new conversation with 30 people participating.

From admin Aceil Haddad :

"Hi all! Beautiful group forming! I thought maybe it would be good to share what initiatives you're doing - maybe we could find some synergies and do less dei washing and more getting shit done."

And from community member Ann-Marie Blake :

"As part of PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board we are in the process of updating the ethnicity pay gap guide. It's been four years since the last one so let's see what progress has been made."

More to come ...

Digital & Technology

A conversation among 172 members focused on digital communication for brands and people.

• Civilization VII. I spent a lot of Sunday afternoons with my son playing earlier versions of this game … we still talk about it. The pre-publicity surrounding a launch not scheduled until Feb 2025 is remarkable… as is a petition via Change.org to bring back a popular feature. Is that a thing now?
• Telegram and the "accelerationists." "How Telegram Became the “Center of Gravity” for a New Breed of Domestic Terrorists". Article from ProPublica.

Education & Research

This group, 53 members, is the "academic corner" for those interested in communications education and research.

• Friend or foe? I've submitted an outline for a course I'm hoping to teach in Rome for graduate journalism students on what they need to know about PR. Will keep you posted.

ESG & Sustainability

160 community members discussing ESG, climate communications, DE&I and sustainability.

• Data Boom. The heavy carbon price of AI and cloud data centers.
• Human rights. We’ve talked before about human rights as an increasingly important component of the S in ESG …

”Business sustainability ratings provider EcoVadis announced today the acquisition of human rights technology and analytics company Ulula, with the transaction aimed at increasing its capabilities to help organizations improve human rights impact across supply chains and comply with new regulatory requirements”

General Discussion

This is the largest single conversation in the community, with 744 participants, and by far the noisiest. Just about impossible to summarize, but here are a few items of note:

• Brat summer. Gen Z is my second favorite. Thanks Nigel Sarbutts .
• KAOS. Just watch it, you're welcome. And thanks Shayoni Lynn FCIPR FPRCA .
• Still salty. Many of the Brits in the community continued to seethe over the Ticketmaster / Oasis brouhaha.
• Prayer for the future. I had the opportunity to hear the Rev. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) deliver a lecture at St. Paul's in London, commemorating the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's famous sermon from the very same spot. I'm not particularly religious but I found it moving on several levels: political ("Democracies expand and contract; we're now in tension between the two"): spiritual ("Love yourself, love others, and reach up to God"); and even professional ("define a vision for the future and throw yourself at it"). I'm paraphrasing, but you get the points.

• CommsClarity Consulting. Congrats Richard Bagnall, Hon FCIPR, FPRCA, FAMEC and Paul Hender on the creation of their new measurement agency.
• PRISM. From Ann-Marie Blake :"Applications are now open for the next cohort of mentors and mentees. PRISM has been created to provide meaningful support to Black, Asian and ethnically diverse professionals globally."
• Nikki Haley. I don't think any of us saw this coming.
• Cannes Lions and sexual assault. From Anastasia Ivanova : "This feels like a badly written episode of Mad Men. But no, it's the American female students' lived experience at the Festival of Creativity this year. Women's safety is till an issue at Cannes. The owners have their work cut out (Informa, if the sales deal closes) - or one can blame too much rose ?? and a cross-continental culture clash...
• Socially Mobile. Fund-raising appeal from Stephen Waddington .
• Ketchum Reunion. Epic. Thanks Kate Matlock Victoria O’Brien for organizing a celebration of Ketchumness spanning more than 26 years. I only wish we had more time to gab. Ross Hall reminded me to get this photo, and if you're in it, please say in the comments!

In-house Discussion

A place to discuss the realities of in-house communications, media and marketing, with input from 135 members. No new posts last week.

Job Board

Sonya Cullington MA MSc very kindly administers a job board featuring career opportunities in the UK, US and occasionally beyond. These are not included in the weekly summary, but appreciated by the whole community.

Library

Recommended reading / listening / viewing material from the community, with 108 members contributing. Two suggestions from Andrew Bruce Smith :

• NEXUS: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, by Yuval Harari. Review.
• Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World, by Parmy Olson. Review.

Mis/Disinformation

155 people looking at how and why mis/disinformation spreads, and ways to mitigate. This week we followed a big breaking story on the US formally charging Russians with spreading misinformation about the upcoming election.

• It started with the seizure of Kremlin-run websites and charges against two Russian nationals
• Then a closer look at the source documents
• And the reaction of the "duped" right-wing influencers targeted by the Russians
• Which Wired broke down further here
• And of course this is just the tip of the iceberg

Politics & Policy

Always lively, with 142 contributors examining media, language and imagery in policy and politics. I was worried that people might be confused or annoyed by a conversation that veers between different countries and political questions, so we put it to a vote. Outcome: keep it as it is.

• Against All Enemies. Grim but important viewing on how right-wing nationalists in the US are recruiting veterans for future violence. Via Elie Jacobs .
• Tony Blair. Back on the scene. Thanks Julio Romo .
• Sane-washing. I was asked to suggest a few resources for political nerds to get into the underbrush of the U.S. election, and here’s a great one … He (Robert Hubbell) covers a lot in this one - grassroots activism (happy to have been on the Democrats Abroad call he references), Nate Silvers’s scale-tipping, and JD Vance’s gun-shrugging, but for this group I think the most salient point is the one on sane-washing …
• Mass psychology. "In the minds of [Trump's] most ardent supporters, the ex-president is both more and less than a person." Via Federica Urzo .
• Human bulldozer. Why JD Vance is still on the ticket?

Women In Communications

The other recently established group, already with 54 participants. No posts to share yet.

Meet-ups

Last week's in-person encounters included Maja Pawinska Sims Andy West Elisabeth Lewis-Jones Anna Geffert Tim Weber Rosie Bannister Farzana Baduel Richard Bagnall, Hon FCIPR, FPRCA, FAMEC Ella Darlington Abby Guthkelch Leah Selouk Kate Matlock Paige Yepko Russell Pink

Gracias!

If you'd like to jump into the live WhatsApp conversation, drop me a line for a link, and thanks as always to those who contribute each week.